JP2014191364A - Printing management system, printing management method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing management system, a printing management method, and a program that enable creation of a detection rule for detecting printing under a peculiar condition with high accuracy.SOLUTION: A printing management system comprises: a history acquisition unit 200 that acquires a print history; and a rule creation unit 206 that on the basis of the acquired print history, creates a detection rule for detecting printing under a peculiar condition for each of a plurality of items of the print history.

Description

  The present invention relates to a print management system, a print management method, and a program.

  In recent years, with the spread of network environments and electronic documents, it has become common to perform printing by transmitting electronic documents from information terminals to a printer connected via a network. Since such printing can be easily performed only by operating the information terminal, there is a possibility that a large amount of printing more than necessary or printing intended to take out confidential information may occur.

  In order to prevent the above unnecessary or unauthorized printing, conventionally, a printable range is set for each user in advance, and when printing exceeds the printable range, the printing is stopped, or Precautionary measures were taken such as requiring authentication. In addition, for example, a detection rule for detecting unnecessary or unauthorized printing is defined in advance, and when the detection rule is satisfied, a warning measure such as stopping the printing or requesting authentication is performed. It was.

  On the other hand, as a method for automatically creating a detection rule when the detection rule is not clear, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a detection rule for creating a detection rule based on the appearance frequency of a character string in data. A creation method is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-31679

  However, since the detection rule creation method disclosed in Patent Document 1 uses only one viewpoint for creating a detection rule, there is a problem that the accuracy of detecting printing under a specific condition is low. Specifically, because the detection rule is created based only on the appearance frequency of the character string in the data, even if it is a standard condition in terms of the appearance frequency of the character string, it is unique from other viewpoints. There is a problem in that it is impossible to detect the case of the condition, and as a result, printing under a specific condition is missed.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to create a detection rule for detecting printing under unique conditions with high accuracy. Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved print management system, print management method, and program.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, according to one aspect of the present invention, a unique condition for each of a plurality of items of the print history based on the history acquisition unit that acquires the print history and the acquired print history And a rule creating unit that creates a detection rule for detecting printing in the print management system.

  The print history may include at least one of printer information, print date / time, printing press information, print file information, print amount, and print setting information.

  The history acquisition unit may acquire the printing history from a plurality of printing machines.

  The rule creation unit may create the detection rule for at least one of a printer and a group to which the printer belongs.

  The rule creation unit determines printing under standard conditions for each of a plurality of items of the printing history from the printing history of the printer or a group to which the printing company belongs, A detection rule for determining that printing not included in the printing is printing under a specific condition may be created.

  The rule creation unit, when each of the plurality of items of the print history has been printed under the same conditions more than a predetermined ratio, a detection rule that sets the printing under the conditions as printing under a standard condition You may create it.

  The rule creating unit creates a detection rule for determining that printing under the conditions is printing under standard conditions for the items having a large printing ratio under the same conditions among the plurality of items of the printing history. Also good.

  The print management system may further include a print determination unit that determines, based on the detection rule, whether printing to be executed is printing under a standard condition or printing under a specific condition.

  The print management system includes an exception rule storage unit that stores in advance an exception rule that designates a specific print as a print under a standard condition or a print under a specific condition, and a print that is executed based on the exception rule And an exception processing unit that determines whether printing is performed under standard conditions or printing under specific conditions.

  The exception rule may include an exception rule that regards the printing as printing under a specific condition when the printing person prints using a printing machine that is not in the printing history of the printing person.

  The exception rule is that when the printer has a printing history using a predetermined number of printing machines, the printing is performed even if printing is performed using a printing machine not included in the printing history of the printing person. Exception rules that are regarded as printing under various conditions may be included.

  The exception rule is that when the printer prints a file printed in the print history of the printer, even if the printing is performed using a printing machine not in the print history of the printer, Exception rules that are regarded as printing under various conditions may be included.

  The print management system may further include a print warning unit that instructs a printing machine that performs printing to warn the printing when the print determination unit determines that the printing to be performed is a printing under a specific condition. Good.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, according to another aspect of the present invention, a step of acquiring a print history, and each of the plurality of items of the print history based on the acquired print history is unique. Creating a rule for detecting printing under conditions, a print management method is provided.

  In order to solve the above problem, according to still another aspect of the present invention, a computer includes a history acquisition unit that acquires a print history, and a plurality of items of the print history based on the acquired print history. A program for functioning as a rule creation unit that creates a rule for detecting printing under a specific condition is provided.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to create a detection rule for detecting printing under a specific condition with high accuracy.

It is explanatory drawing explaining the outline of the printing management system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the internal structure of the log | history analyzer which concerns on the embodiment. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a printing press management server according to the embodiment. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which showed an example of the specific example of the printing history which a printing history memory | storage part memorize | stores. It is explanatory drawing of the specific example explaining the judgment method of the standard conditions in a printing date. It is explanatory drawing of the specific example explaining the judgment method of the standard conditions in the number of printed pages. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a detection rule created from the specific examples of FIGS. 4A and 4B. It is explanatory drawing of the specific example explaining the judgment method of the standard conditions in each user. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the detection rule produced from the specific example of FIG. 5A. It is explanatory drawing which showed an example of the specific example of the exception rule which an exception rule memory | storage part memorize | stores. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation of creating a detection rule for detecting printing under a specific condition in the print management system according to the embodiment. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating a print detection operation under a specific condition in the print management system according to the embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation for determining whether or not the executed printing is printing under a specific condition in the printing press management server according to the embodiment.

  Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

<1. Outline of print management system>
The present invention is described below with an example, but can be implemented in various forms. The print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes:
A. A history acquisition unit for acquiring a print history;
B. A rule creation unit that creates a detection rule for detecting printing under a specific condition for each of the plurality of items of the print history based on the acquired print history;
Is provided.

  First, a schematic configuration of a print management system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an outline of a print management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a print management system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a history analysis device 2, a printing press management server 4 connected to the history analysis device 2 via a public network 6, and a printing press management via a company network 8. Printing machines 10A to 10N connected to the server 4 and terminals 12A to 12N connected to the in-house network 8 are included.

  The history analysis device 2 creates a detection rule for detecting printing under a specific condition based on the printing history. Specifically, the history analysis apparatus 2 receives the printing history of the printing presses 10A to 10N from the printing press management server 4, and stores the printing history. Further, the history analysis device 2 creates a detection rule for detecting printing under a specific condition for each of a plurality of items of the stored print history, and transmits it to the printing press management server 4 as needed. With this configuration, the history analysis apparatus 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention can create a detection rule for detecting printing under a specific condition from various viewpoints of a plurality of items, and the detection accuracy of the detection rule Can be improved.

  Here, the items of the printing history may be, for example, printer information, printing date / time, printing press information, printing file information, printing amount, printing setting information, and the like. More specifically, the plurality of items in the print history represent a user ID representing printer information, a terminal ID of a terminal for which a print instruction has been issued, a print date and print time representing a print date, and printing press information. It may be a printing machine ID, a file name of an electronic document representing print file information, a number of print pages representing a print amount, a print setting representing print setting information, and the like.

  The printing press management server 4 acquires a printing history including the above items from the printing presses 10 </ b> A to 10 </ b> N and transmits it to the history analysis device 2. Further, the printing press management server 4 stores a detection rule for detecting printing under unique conditions, and when the printing presses 10A to 10N execute printing, whether or not the printing is printing under unusual conditions. Judgment is made.

  Specifically, the printing press management server 4 acquires printing histories from the printing presses 10 </ b> A to 10 </ b> N via the in-house network 8, and transmits and stores them in the history analysis device 2 via the public network 6. Further, the printing press management server 4 stores a detection rule for detecting printing under a specific condition created by the history analysis device 2 and an exception rule for increasing detection accuracy. Further, when the printing presses 10A to 10N execute printing, the printing press management server 4 determines whether the printing executed based on the detection rule and the exception rule is printing under a specific condition. Do. Note that when the printing press management server 4 determines that the printing to be executed is printing under a specific condition, the printing press management server 4 may instruct the printing presses 10A to 10N to perform warning or monitoring of the printing.

  The public network 6 is a public network capable of transmitting and receiving data between the printing press management server 4 and the history analysis device 2. The public network 6 is a public line network such as the Internet, a satellite communication network, a telephone line network including an analog line or an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) line, for example.

  The in-house network 8 is a dedicated network owned by a company or the like that can transmit and receive data to and from the printing press management server 4, the printing presses 10A to 10N, and the terminals 12A to 12N. The in-house network 8 is an intranet constructed by, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or the like, and may be constructed by an IP-VPN (Internet Protocol-Virtual Private Network).

  The printing machines 10A to 10N are printing apparatuses that print electronic documents according to instructions from the terminals 12A to 12N. The printing machines 10A to 10N are, for example, printers having only a printing function, or printer multifunction machines having functions such as printing, copying, and facsimile. The printers 10A to 10N are installed in different buildings or bases, and execute printing by receiving print data and a print instruction from the terminals 12A to 12N via the in-house network 8.

  The terminals 12A to 12N are information processing terminals that transmit print data and a print instruction to the printing presses 10A to 10N, and are, for example, personal computers. The terminals 12A to 12N can send print data and a print instruction to arbitrary printing machines 10A to 10N via the in-house network 8 to execute printing.

  Here, in the embodiment of the present invention, the numbers of the printing presses 10A to 10N and the terminals 12A to 12N are not limited and may be any number.

  In the above embodiment, the history analysis apparatus 2 has been described as being connected to one printing press management server 4 via the public network 6, but the present invention is not limited to such an example. For example, the history analysis apparatus 2 may be connected to a printing press management server (not shown) connected to another in-house network via the public network 6. With such a configuration, the history analysis apparatus 2 collects printing histories from each of the printing press management servers connected to the in-house network of various companies, etc. beyond the boundaries of the companies, etc., so that a larger amount of printing history can be obtained. Can be remembered. With this configuration, the history analysis apparatus 2 can create a detection rule that detects printing under a specific condition based on a larger amount of print history, and thus the accuracy of the detection rule can be further improved. Here, the company from which the history analysis apparatus 2 collects print histories may collect only in the same industry, or may collect regardless of the industry.

  In the above embodiment, the history analysis apparatus 2 has been described as being connected to the printing press management server 4 via the public network 6, but the present invention is not limited to such illustration. For example, the history analysis apparatus 2 may be connected to the printing press management server 4 via the in-house network 8. In such a case, the history analysis apparatus 2 stores only the printing history of the printing press management server 4 connected via the in-house network 8. Further, in this case, the history analysis device 2 may be configured to be integrated with the printing press management server 4.

  The outline of the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to FIG. As described above, the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention can create a detection rule for detecting printing under a specific condition from various viewpoints using a plurality of items. Therefore, the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention can create a detection rule with high detection accuracy, and can detect printing under a specific condition with higher accuracy by using the detection rule. Can do.

  In addition, since the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention acquires print histories from a plurality of printing presses 10A to 10N, a common detection rule is applied even if a user moves to a plurality of bases and executes printing. can do. Further, since the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention acquires the print history from the plurality of printers 10A to 10N, it can acquire the deviation for each of the printers 10A to 10N in the user's print history. Therefore, it is possible to determine printing under unique conditions based on information indicating which printing machine 10A to 10N has executed printing.

  Furthermore, the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention can set an exception of the detection rule as an exception rule when the detection rule created from the print history cannot cope. With such a configuration, the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention can determine with high accuracy whether printing is performed under a specific condition even when printing is performed with more complicated and fine conditions.

<2. Internal Configuration of History Analysis Device and Printing Machine Management Server>
Next, with reference to FIGS. 2A to 6, in the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention having the effects described above, the internal structure of the characteristic history analysis device 2 and the printing press management server 4 is more detailed. This will be specifically described. FIG. 2A is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the history analysis apparatus 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the printing press management server 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention. is there.

[2.1. Internal structure of history analyzer]
First, the history analysis apparatus 2 included in the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A and 3 to 5B. As shown in FIG. 2A, the history analysis device 2 includes an analysis device communication unit 200, a print history storage unit 202, a correspondence information storage unit 204, and a rule creation unit 206.

  The analysis device communication unit 200 is connected to the public network 6 and exchanges data with the printing press management server 4. Specifically, the analysis device communication unit 200 receives the printing history of the printing presses 10 </ b> A to 10 </ b> N from the printing press management server 4 and stores the printing history in the printing history storage unit 202. Further, the analysis device communication unit 200 transmits the detection rule created by the rule creation unit 206 to the printing press management server 4.

  The print history storage unit 202 stores the print history received from the printing press management server 4. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a print history stored in the print history storage unit 202. As shown in FIG. 3, the print history includes a user ID representing printer information and a terminal ID of a terminal for which a printing instruction has been issued, a printing date and time representing a printing date, and a printing machine ID representing printing machine information. And the file name of the electronic document representing the print file information, the number of print pages representing the print amount, and the print setting representing the print setting information.

  In the example of the print history illustrated in FIG. 3, the user with the user ID “1470” uses the terminal ID “163” at the printing time “10:25” on the printing date “2012/3/1”. It is shown that the file name “Project Proposal. Xxx” was printed with the printing setting of “30” print pages and “double-sided color” on the printing machine with ID “11”. Further, the user with the user ID “1234” uses the terminal ID “121” to print the file on the printing machine with the printing machine ID “25” at the printing time “15:13” on the printing date “2012/3/1”. It is shown that the name “meeting minutes.xxx” was printed with the print setting of “3” print pages and “double-sided monochrome”. Further, the user with the user ID “1987” uses the terminal ID “178” to print the file on the printing machine with the printing machine ID “38” at the printing time “8:32” on the printing date “2012/3/2”. It is shown that the name “experiment data.xxx” was printed with the print setting of “5” print pages and “single-sided monochrome”.

  The correspondence information storage unit 204 stores correspondence information used when the rule creation unit 206 creates a detection rule. For example, the correspondence information storage unit 204 may store correspondence information between the user ID and the affiliation group used when the rule creation unit 206 creates a detection rule for each affiliation group. The correspondence information storage unit 204 also includes a group of terminal IDs and a group to which the terminal belongs, which is used when the rule creating unit 206 groups terminal IDs together at bases and creates a detection rule using the group as a condition. Correspondence information may be stored. Furthermore, the correspondence information storage unit 204 includes the printing machine ID and the printing machine used when the rule creation unit 206 groups the printing machine IDs together at the bases and creates a detection rule using the group as a condition. The correspondence relationship with the group may be stored.

  The rule creation unit 206 creates a detection rule that detects printing under a specific condition at a predetermined timing using the print history stored in the print history storage unit 202. Specifically, the rule creation unit 206 determines a standard condition for each item of the print history for each user ID or for each group belonging to the user ID, or prints a condition other than the standard condition. A detection rule that is regarded as printing in is created at a predetermined timing.

  Here, the timing at which the rule creation unit 206 creates the detection rule is a timing according to a predetermined cycle such as every month or every three months. As the accumulated print history increases, the accuracy of the detection rule created by the rule creation unit 206 improves. Therefore, the rule creation unit 206 recreates the detection rule at a predetermined cycle, and the printing press management server 4 stores it. It is preferable to update the detection rule.

(Example of how to create a detection rule)
Hereinafter, a more specific detection rule creation method of the rule creation unit 206 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C. FIG. 4A is an explanatory diagram of a specific example for explaining a standard condition determination method for a printing date, and FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram of a specific example for explaining a standard condition determination method for the number of printed pages. . FIG. 4C is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a detection rule created from the specific examples of FIGS. 4A and 4B.

  First, the rule creation unit 206 determines whether the print history is classified for each item and each user ID for the print history stored in the print history storage unit 202, and is executed under each condition. The ratio of printing performed is calculated. Here, the conditions for classifying the print history are preferably stored in the history analysis device 2 in advance.

  As a specific example, FIG. 4A shows an example in which the print history is classified under the conditions of “weekdays” and “holiday / holiday” in the item of print date. FIG. 4B shows an example in which the print history is classified under the “page” condition.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the user with the user ID “1470” has a printing rate of “96%” on “weekdays” and a printing rate of “4%” on “holiday / holiday”. is there. In addition, for the user with the user ID “1234”, the ratio of printing performed on “weekdays” is “100%”, and the ratio of printing performed on “holidays / holidays” is “0%”. Furthermore, the ratio of printing executed on “weekdays” for the user with the user ID “1987” is “70%”, and the ratio of printing executed on “holidays / holidays” is “30%”.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 4B, the user with the user ID “1470” has a print ratio of “1 to 20 pages” with a print ratio of “50%” and a print page number of “21 to 30 pages”. ”Is a print ratio of“ 50% ”. The user with the user ID “1234” has a print ratio of “1-20 pages” as “100%” and a print ratio of “21-30 pages” as “0”. % ". Furthermore, the user with the user ID “1987” has a print ratio of “97%” with the number of print pages “1 to 20 pages” and a print ratio with the number of print pages “21 to 30 pages”. “3%”.

  The rule creation unit 206 executes the classification of the print history described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B for each user ID for all items included in the print history. Here, the rule creation unit 206 may execute the above-described classification of the print history for each group to which the user ID belongs instead of executing it for each user ID. Further, the rule creation unit 206 may execute the classification of the print history for each user ID and for each group to which the user ID belongs. Since the rule creation unit 206 executes the printing history classification for each user ID and for each group to which the user ID belongs, the viewpoint for detecting printing under unique conditions increases, so that the uniqueness can be achieved with higher accuracy. It becomes possible to detect printing under conditions.

  In the above, a specific example of the classification condition of the printing date and the number of printed pages is shown, but it is possible to arbitrarily set the classification condition for each of the other items. For example, in “terminal ID”, the print history may be classified for each terminal ID, or the print history may be classified for each base and building where a plurality of terminals exist. In “printing time”, within working hours (for example, from 9:00 to 17:00), outside working hours (for example, from 7:00 to 9:00, from 17:00 to 22:00), midnight and early morning time (for example, from 22:00 to 7:00 the next day) The print history may be classified by a predetermined time width such as In the “printing machine ID”, the printing history may be classified for each printing machine, or the printing history may be classified for each base and building where a plurality of printing machines exist. In “file name”, the print history may be classified according to the extension of the file, and whether or not the file name includes a specific character string (for example, “plan”, “minutes” ”May be included), and the print history may be classified. Further, in “print setting”, the print history may be classified by each print setting.

  Here, the correspondence between the user ID and the group to which the user ID belongs, the correspondence between the terminal ID and the base and the building where each terminal exists, and the correspondence between the printing press ID and the base and the building where each printing press exists Is stored in the correspondence information storage unit 204 as described above.

  Next, the rule creating unit 206 determines whether or not the condition is a standard condition by using a predetermined threshold for the printing ratio in each condition. Specifically, a condition in which the ratio of printing executed under the conditions of each item is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold is determined as a standard condition, and a condition other than the condition is determined as a unique condition. Furthermore, when the standard condition and the unique condition are determined, the rule creating unit 206 creates a detection rule for detecting printing under the unique condition. Further, when there is no condition in which the printing ratio is equal to or greater than the threshold, the rule creating unit 206 does not create a detection rule for detecting printing under a specific condition, assuming that there is no standard condition.

  As a specific example, FIG. 4C shows an example of a detection rule created from the specific examples of FIGS. 4A and 4B. Here, “90%” was used as a threshold value for the rule creation unit 206 to determine a standard condition. As shown in FIG. 4C, the user with the user ID “1470” indicates that “weekdays” is a standard condition because the ratio of printing performed on “weekdays” is “96%” in the item of print date. It is determined that “holiday / holiday” other than “weekdays” is a unique condition. Accordingly, the rule creation unit 206 creates a detection rule on the assumption that “printing on holidays / holidays” is printing under a specific condition in the item of printing date. Further, the user with the user ID “1470” does not have the condition that the ratio is “90%” or more in the item of the number of printed pages, so it is determined that there is no standard condition. Therefore, the rule creation unit 206 does not create a detection rule in the item of the number of printed pages.

  Similarly, the user with the user ID “1234” determines that “weekdays” is a standard condition because the percentage of printing performed on “weekdays” in the item of printing date is “100%”. It is determined that “holiday / holiday” other than “weekdays” is a unique condition. Accordingly, the rule creation unit 206 creates a detection rule on the assumption that “printing on holidays / holidays” is printing under a specific condition in the item of printing date. In addition, the user with the user ID “1234” has “100%” as the printing ratio of “number of printed pages 1 to 20” in the item of number of printed pages. Therefore, it is determined that “print page number 21 to 30 pages” other than “print page number 1 to 20 pages” is a unique condition. Therefore, the rule creation unit 206 creates a detection rule on the assumption that “print page count 21 to 30 pages” is printing under a specific condition in the print page count item.

  Furthermore, the user with the user ID “1987” is determined not to have a standard condition because there is no condition with a ratio of “90%” or more in the item of print date. Therefore, the rule creation unit 206 does not create a detection rule for the print date item. Further, the user with the user ID “1987” has “97%” as the printing ratio of “print page number 1 to 20 pages” in the print page number item, so “print page number 1 to 20 pages” is the standard. Therefore, it is determined that “print page number 21 to 30 pages” other than “print page number 1 to 20 pages” is a unique condition. Therefore, the rule creation unit 206 creates a detection rule on the assumption that “print page count 21 to 30 pages” is printing under a specific condition in the print page count item.

  The method for creating a detection rule for the rule creation unit 206 to detect printing under a specific condition has been specifically described above. Here, the rule creation unit 206 may create a detection rule for each group to which the user ID belongs, instead of creating a detection rule for each user ID. The rule creation unit 206 may create a detection rule for each user ID and for each group to which the user ID belongs.

(Modification of how to create detection rules)
Next, a modified example of the detection rule creation method for detecting printing under unique conditions executed by the rule creation unit 206 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B. FIG. 5A is an explanatory diagram of a specific example illustrating a standard condition determination method for each user. FIG. 5B is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a detection rule created from the specific example of FIG. 5A.

  In the modified example, as in the above embodiment, the rule creating unit 206 determines whether the print history is classified into predetermined conditions for each item and user ID with respect to the stored print history. Calculate the percentage of printing performed. Further, the rule creation unit 206 summarizes the calculated printing ratio for each user ID. FIG. 5A is a specific example in which the rule creation unit 206 summarizes the user with the user ID “2581”.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the user with the user ID “2581” has a “weekday” print ratio of “80%” and a “holiday / holiday” print ratio of “20%” in the print date item. . In the print time item, the print ratio of “9:00 to 17:00” is “70%”, and the print ratio of “other than 9:00 to 17:00” is “30%”. In the printing machine ID item, the printing ratio of the printing machine having the printing machine ID “11” is “50%”, and the printing ratio of printing machines other than the printing machine ID “11” is “50%”. It is. Furthermore, in the item of the number of print pages, the print ratio of “1 to 20 pages” is “40%”, and the print ratio of “21 to 30 pages” is “60%”.

  Next, the rule creation unit 206 compares the ratios of the conditions that occupy the largest ratio among the items, and determines the items having the conditions with the large ratios as the items for which the detection rule is created. Also, the rule creation unit 206 determines that the condition that occupies the largest ratio in each item is a standard condition, and the condition that occupies the largest ratio is a unique condition. Further, the rule creation unit 206 creates a detection rule for detecting printing under the specific condition.

  A specific example of detection rule creation described above will be described with reference to FIG. 5A. As shown in FIG. 5A, when the condition with the largest ratio is compared between the items for the user with the user ID “2581”, “80%” and “ “70%” of “9:00 to 17:00” in the “Print Time” item, “60%” of “21 to 30” in the “Number of Printed Pages” item, “ 11 ”is“ 50% ”. Here, when two detection rules are created for each user, the rule creation unit 206 determines “print date” and “print time” as items for which a detection rule is created.

  Subsequently, the rule creation unit 206 determines that “weekdays”, which is the condition with the highest ratio in the “printing date” item, is a standard condition. Further, the rule creating unit 206 creates a detection rule by judging that “holiday / holiday”, which is a condition other than “weekdays”, which is determined as a standard condition, is a unique condition. Similarly, in the item “print time”, the rule creating unit 206 determines that “9:00 to 17:00”, which is the condition with the highest ratio, is the standard condition. Furthermore, the rule creating unit 206 determines that “other than 9:00:00 to 17:00”, which is a condition other than “9:00 to 17:00”, which is determined as a standard condition, is a unique condition, Create a detection rule.

  FIG. 5B shows a specific example when the rule creation unit 206 creates the above example from the specific example of FIG. 5A. As shown in FIG. 5B, a detection rule is created for the user with the user ID “2581” that “printing on holidays / holidays” and “printing other than 9:00 to 17:00” are printing under special conditions. Has been.

  Note that the rule creation unit 206 may create a detection rule by combining the above-described embodiments and modification examples. In such a case, the rule creation unit 206 detects the detection rule according to the above modification only when the largest ratio is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold among items determined to have a condition with a large ratio and the detection rule is created. Create

[2.2. Internal configuration of the printing press management server]
Next, the printing press management server 4 included in the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2B and 6.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the printing press management server 4 includes an in-house communication unit 400, a history acquisition unit 402, an external communication unit 404, a detection rule storage unit 406, a print determination unit 408, and an exception processing unit 410. , An exception rule storage unit 412 and a print alert unit 414.

  The in-house communication unit 400 is connected to the in-house network 8 and transmits / receives data to / from the printing machines 10A to 10N. Specifically, the in-house communication unit 400 receives the respective print histories from the printing presses 10A to 10N. The in-house communication unit 400 receives print contents executed by the printing presses 10A to 10N, and transmits an execution permission or a warning instruction to the printing presses 10A to 10N for the printing to be executed.

  The history acquisition unit 402 acquires printing histories from the printing presses 10A to 10N, respectively. Specifically, the history acquisition unit 402 acquires print histories from the printers 10A to 10N connected to the in-house network 8 at a predetermined timing (for example, every week or every month). 6 is transmitted to the print history storage unit 202 of the history analysis apparatus 2 and stored.

  The external communication unit 404 is connected to the public network 6 and transmits / receives data to / from the history analysis device 2. Specifically, the external communication unit 404 transmits the print history acquired by the history acquisition unit 402 to the history analysis device 2, receives the detection rule for detecting printing under a specific condition from the history analysis device 2 as needed, The data is stored in the detection rule storage unit 406.

  The detection rule storage unit 406 stores a detection rule for detecting printing under a specific condition. For example, the detection rule storage unit 406 stores the detection rule shown as an example in FIG. 4C or FIG. 5B.

  Here, the detection rule is preferably stored in the detection rule storage unit 406 of the printing press management server 4 instead of being stored in the history analysis device 2. When the printing press management server 4 stores the detection rule, the detection rule is confirmed up to the history analysis apparatus 2 connected to the public network 6 when determining whether the printing to be executed is printing under a specific condition. There is no need to do. Accordingly, with this configuration, the printing press management server 4 can improve the processing speed for determining whether the printing to be executed is printing under a specific condition.

  The print determination unit 408 determines whether the printing executed by the printing presses 10A to 10N is printing under a specific condition. Specifically, first, the print determination unit 408 acquires the print contents of the printing executed by the printing presses 10A to 10N via the in-house communication unit 400. The print content items acquired by the print determination unit 408 are the same as the items included in the print history. Next, based on the acquired print content and the detection rule stored in the detection rule storage unit 406, the print determination unit 408 determines whether the printing performed by the printing presses 10A to 10N is printing under a specific condition. Judging.

  Note that the print determination unit 408 may determine that the print to be performed is a print under a specific condition when the print to be executed corresponds to at least one detection rule. Further, the print determination unit 408 reflects the determination result of the exception rule by the exception processing unit 410 (to be described later) and finally determines whether or not the print is a print under a specific condition.

  In addition, if the printing to be executed is printing under standard conditions, the printing determination unit 408 transmits the printing execution permission to the printing machines 10A to 10N. In addition, if the printing to be executed is printing under a specific condition, the print determination unit 408 notifies the print warning unit 414 that the printing is performed under a specific condition.

  Based on the exception rule stored in the exception rule storage unit 412, the exception processing unit 410 determines whether the printing executed by the printing presses 10 </ b> A to 10 </ b> N is printing under special conditions. Specifically, the exception processing unit 410 acquires the print contents of the print to be executed, similar to the print determination unit 408, and the print is unique based on the exception rules stored in the exception rule storage unit 412. It is determined whether printing is performed under conditions, and the result determined by the print determination unit 408 is overwritten.

  Therefore, the exception processing unit 410 determines whether printing is performed under a specific condition based on the exception rule that is an exception rule of the detection rule. Since the exception processing unit 410 can set individual exception rules even if they are fine or complex conditions that cannot be handled by the detection rules created from the print history, unique conditions in the printing press management server 4 Printing accuracy can be further improved.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a specific example of the exception rule stored in the exception rule storage unit 412. As shown in FIG. 6, for example, it is stored as an exception rule that “printing by a printing machine that has not been printed by the user in the printing history” is determined as “printing under special conditions”. . In addition, when “printing is performed using a printing machine in which the user has a printing history of 10 or more printing machines and the user has not printed”, it is determined that “printing under standard conditions” is determined. Has been. Further, when “printing of a file having printing experience by the user in the printing history and printing on a printing machine that the user has never printed” is determined as “printing under standard conditions”. It is remembered. Such an exception rule may be manually input and set by a user having the management authority of the print management system.

  When it is determined that the printing to be executed is printing under a specific condition, the printing warning unit 414 instructs the printing machine 10 that performs printing to be warning of the printing. Specifically, when the print alert unit 414 receives a notification from the print determination unit 408 that the print to be executed is a print under a specific condition, the print alert unit 414 alerts the printing machine 10 that executes the print. Instruct. More specifically, the print warning unit 414 may instruct the printing machine 10 to stop printing under a specific condition, or may instruct the printing history to be marked. Further, the print warning unit 414 may instruct the printing machine 10 to request user authentication, or may instruct the user to obtain approval from the senior manager. Further, the print warning unit 414 may instruct the printing machine 10 to acquire an image of the print result.

  In the above embodiment, the detection rule storage unit 406, the print determination unit 408, the exception processing unit 410, the exception rule storage unit 412, and the print warning unit 414 have been described as being included in the printing press management server 4. The present invention is not limited to such illustration. For example, each of the printing presses 10A to 10N may include a detection rule storage unit 406, a print determination unit 408, an exception processing unit 410, an exception rule storage unit 412, and a print warning unit 414.

[2.3. Summary of internal configuration of history analyzer and printing press management server]
The specific internal configurations of the history analysis apparatus 2 and the printing press management server 4 that are characteristic in the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention have been described above.

  With such a configuration, the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention can create a detection rule for detecting printing under a specific condition from various viewpoints of a plurality of items, thereby improving the detection accuracy of the detection rule. be able to.

  Here, the information processing of the history analysis apparatus 2 and the printing press management server 4 described above is realized by cooperation of hardware and software.

  For example, the rule creation unit 206, the history acquisition unit 402, the print determination unit 408, the exception processing unit 410, and the print warning unit 414 are a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that functions as an arithmetic processing unit and a control unit, a program used by the CPU, It is realized by a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores calculation parameters and the like, a program that is used in the execution of the CPU, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) that temporarily stores parameters that change as appropriate in the execution.

  The print history storage unit 202, the correspondence information storage unit 204, the detection rule storage unit 406, and the exception rule storage unit 412 are realized by a storage device for data storage such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), for example.

  Furthermore, the analysis device communication unit 200, the in-house communication unit 400, and the external communication unit 404 are realized by, for example, a wired LAN or wireless LAN compatible communication device, a wire communication device that performs wired communication, or the like.

<3. Operation of print management system>
Subsequently, the operation of the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation of creating a detection rule for detecting printing under a specific condition in the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram illustrating a print detection operation under a specific condition in the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention. Further, FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining an operation in the printing press management server 4 for determining whether or not the executed printing is printing under a specific condition.

  First, an operation of creating a detection rule for detecting printing under a specific condition by the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the terminal 12 instructs the printing press 10 to execute printing (S100), and the print history is accumulated. Next, at a predetermined timing (for example, every week or every month), the printing press management server 4 acquires a printing history from each printing press 10 (S102), and the printing history is stored in the history analysis device 2. Transmit and store (S104). Subsequently, the history analysis apparatus 2 creates a detection rule for detecting printing under a specific condition at a predetermined timing (for example, every month, every three months, etc.) from the accumulated printing history (S106). Further, the printing press management server 4 acquires and stores the detection rule created by the history analysis device 2 (S108).

  Here, the greater the number of print histories used for detection rule creation, the more the history analysis apparatus 2 can create a detection rule with higher accuracy for detecting printing under more specific conditions. Therefore, the history analysis device 2 recreates the detection rule at a predetermined timing (for example, every month, every three months, etc.) according to the accumulation of the print history, and updates the detection rule stored in the printing press management server 4 It is preferable to make it. The timing at which the history analysis device 2 creates the detection rule may be the same as or different from the timing at which the printing history is transmitted from the printing press management server 4.

  Next, an operation in which the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention detects printing under a specific condition will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when printing execution is instructed from the terminal 12 to the printing press 10 (S110), the printing press 10 transmits the printing contents of the printing to the printing press management server 4 (S112). The printing press management server 4 that has received the print content, based on the print content, the detection rule stored in the detection rule storage unit 406, and the exception rule stored in the exception rule storage unit 412, a condition that the printing is unique It is determined whether or not printing is performed at (S114). Subsequently, the printing press management server 4 notifies the judgment result of the printing content to the printing press 10 (S116). If the printing is determined to be printing under a specific condition, the printing press management server 4 Instructs the printing machine 10 to be wary of the printing (S118). Further, the printing press 10 executes the printing or performs the instructed warning action according to the instruction from the printing press management server 4 (S120).

  Subsequently, the operation of S114 for determining whether or not the printing to be executed is printing under a specific condition in the printing press management server 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. .

  As shown in FIG. 9, first, the print determination unit 408 of the printing press management server 4 corresponds to printing under specific conditions based on the detection rules stored in the detection rule storage unit 406. Whether or not (S200). Subsequently, when the detection rule determines that the printing is not printing under a specific condition (S200 / No), the exception processing unit 410 of the printing press management server 4 is stored in the exception rule storage unit 412. Based on the exception rule, it is determined whether or not the printing corresponds to printing under a specific condition (S202). Here, when it is determined by the exception rule that the printing is not printing under a specific condition (S202 / No), the printing press management server 4 determines that the printing is printing under a standard condition. (S206). If it is determined by the exception rule that the printing is a printing under a specific condition (Yes in S202), the printing press management server 4 determines that the printing is a printing under a specific condition ( S208).

  In S200, if the detection rule determines that the printing is printing under a specific condition (S200 / Yes), the exception processing unit 410 of the printing press management server 4 stores the exception rule in the exception rule storage unit 412. Based on the exception rule, it is determined whether or not the printing corresponds to printing under standard conditions (S204). When it is determined by the exception rule that the printing is a printing under a standard condition (S204 / Yes), the printing press management server 4 determines that the printing is a printing under a standard condition (S204 / Yes). S206). Further, when it is determined by the exception rule that the printing is not printing under standard conditions (S204 / No), the printing press management server 4 determines that the printing is printing under unique conditions. (S208).

  As described above in more detail, the printing press management server 4 according to the embodiment of the present invention first determines whether the printing to be executed is a specific condition based on the detection rule created by the history analysis device 2. Judge whether or not. Next, the printing press management server 4 determines, based on the exception rule stored in the exception rule storage unit 412, whether the printing to be executed corresponds to the exception rule set as the detection rule exception. When the printing to be executed corresponds to the exception rule, the printing press management server 4 performs printing based on the content specified by the exception rule as printing under a standard condition or printing under a special condition. to decide.

  With such a configuration, the printing press management server 4 can set each detection rule exception as an exception rule even when the detection rule created from the print history cannot cope. Therefore, since the printing press management server 4 can determine whether printing is performed under a specific condition even under more detailed and complicated conditions, the detection accuracy of printing under the specific condition can be improved. it can.

<4. Summary>
As described above in detail, the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention uses the history analysis device to detect printing under a specific condition from various viewpoints using a plurality of items. Can be created. Therefore, the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention can create a detection rule with high detection accuracy, and can detect printing under a specific condition with higher accuracy by using the detection rule. Can do.

  In addition, since the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention acquires print histories from a plurality of printing presses, a common detection rule can be applied even when a user moves to a plurality of bases and executes printing. it can. In addition, since the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention acquires print histories from a plurality of printing presses, it is possible to acquire a bias for each printing press in the user's print history. Therefore, it is possible to determine printing under specific conditions based on which printing machine performs printing.

  Further, the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention can set exceptions of detection rules as exception rules when the detection rules created from the print history cannot cope. With such a configuration, the print management system according to the embodiment of the present invention can determine with high accuracy whether printing is performed under a specific condition even when printing is performed with more complicated and fine conditions.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Of course, it is understood that these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

  In addition, the printing press management server 4 and the history analysis device described above are included in hardware such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM built in the printing press management server 4 and the history analysis device 2 included in the printing management system according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is also possible to create a computer program for demonstrating functions equivalent to those of each configuration of 2. A storage medium storing the computer program is also provided.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 History analyzer 4 Printing machine management server 6 Public network 8 In-house network 10, 10A, 10N Printer 12, 12A, 12N Terminal 200 Analyzer communication part 202 Print history memory part 204 Corresponding information memory part 206 Rule preparation part 400 In-house communication Unit 402 history acquisition unit 404 external communication unit 406 detection rule storage unit 408 print determination unit 410 exception processing unit 412 exception rule storage unit 414 print warning unit

Claims (15)

A history acquisition unit for acquiring a print history;
A rule creation unit that creates a detection rule for detecting printing under a specific condition for each of the plurality of items of the print history based on the acquired print history;
A print management system comprising:   The print management system according to claim 1, wherein the print history includes at least one of printer information, print date and time, printing press information, print file information, print amount, and print setting information.   The print management system according to claim 2, wherein the history acquisition unit acquires the print history from a plurality of printing machines.   The print management system according to claim 3, wherein the rule creation unit creates the detection rule for each of at least one of a printer and a group to which the printer belongs.   The rule creation unit determines printing under standard conditions for each of a plurality of items of the printing history from the printing history of the printer or a group to which the printing company belongs, The print management system according to claim 4, wherein a detection rule for determining that printing not included in said printing is printing under a specific condition is created.   The rule creation unit, when each of the plurality of items of the print history has been printed under the same conditions more than a predetermined ratio, a detection rule that sets the printing under the conditions as printing under a standard condition The print management system according to claim 5, which is created.   The rule creating unit creates a detection rule for determining that printing under the condition is printing under a standard condition for the item having a large printing ratio under the same condition among the plurality of items of the print history. The print management system according to claim 5.   The print management system according to claim 1, further comprising: a print determination unit that determines whether the print to be executed is a print under a standard condition or a special condition based on the detection rule. The print management system according to any one of the above. The print management system includes:
An exception rule storage unit that stores in advance an exception rule that designates specific printing as printing under standard conditions or printing under unusual conditions;
Based on the exception rule, an exception processing unit that determines whether printing to be executed is printing under standard conditions or printing under unique conditions;
The print management system according to claim 8, further comprising:   10. The print management system according to claim 9, wherein the exception rule includes an exception rule that regards the printing as printing under a specific condition when the printing person prints using a printing machine that is not in the printing history of the printing person. .   The exception rule is that when the printer has a printing history using a predetermined number of printing machines, the printing is performed even if printing is performed using a printing machine not included in the printing history of the printing person. The print management system according to claim 10, further comprising an exception rule that is regarded as printing under various conditions.   The exception rule is that when the printer prints a file printed in the print history of the printer, even if the printing is performed using a printing machine not in the print history of the printer, The print management system according to claim 10, comprising an exception rule regarded as printing under various conditions.   The print management system further includes a print warning unit that instructs a printing machine that performs printing to warn the printing when the print determination unit determines that the printing to be executed is printing under a specific condition. Item 13. The print management system according to any one of Items 8 to 12. Obtaining a print history;
Creating a rule for detecting printing under a specific condition for each of the plurality of items of the printing history based on the acquired printing history;
A print management method comprising: A history acquisition unit for acquiring a printing history from the computer;
A rule creating unit that creates a rule for detecting printing under a specific condition for each of the plurality of items of the print history based on the acquired print history;
Program to function as.

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